Tom Petty says he regrets use of Confederate flag in '80s

NEW YORK - Tom Petty says his past use of the Confederate flag was "stupid."

Petty tells Rolling Stone he used the flag to promote the song "Rebels" from his 1985 "Southern Accents" album and "regretted it pretty quickly."

He says during one show, someone threw a Confederate flag on stage and he stopped the show to tell the crowd that's not who he was. He was booed and cheered, but he never saw any more Confederate flags at his shows.

"Lowering the flag from the statehouse grounds was the right decision," Petty added in a recent interview with Mediaite. "That flag shouldn't have any part in our government. It shouldn't represent us in any way. The war is over."

In the aftermath of a racially-motivated June 17 massacre, the Confederate battle flag was removed from the grounds of the South Carolina capitol following an historic vote by the South Carolina House last Friday.